Hitch

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Immensely likable, and allows Mr. Smith to fulfill his manifest destiny -- as an urbane comedian who is also, shades of Cary Grant, a romantic hero.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Hitch is 2005's lone legitimate contender for a Valentine's Day movie date.

USA Today Mike Clark

For much of its length, the premise seems less wilted than you'd guess. This is because, for one thing, Mendes gives as good as she gets.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Smith turns it on with co-star Eva Mendes in a manner that will have George Clooney taking notes.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Smith is an endearing, driving comedic force, one who makes the buoyant Hitch more enjoyable than it has any reason to be.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

The less in control Smith and his co- stars Eva Mendes and Kevin James appear, the better Hitch becomes, until it's rather delightful.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Like most great comedies, Hitch confects a sweetly appealing fantasy.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Romantic comedies have become so cannibalistic lately that Hitch stands out for what seem like major innovations by comparison.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Sometimes big-time studio entertainment is done so well, you simply have to salute its corporate effectiveness.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

A slick new meta-romantic comedy selling a transparent yet strangely irresistible fantasy of upscale romance among the beautiful but guarded.

Village Voice Mark Holcomb

While far from perfect, Hitch is a rare studio product that earns the goodwill it smugly demands.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

But with all due respect to Smith, the movie--a performance piece with an unbelievable bare-bones plot--belongs to Kevin James.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Smith deserves a better romantic comedy than Hitch, but at least he somehow manages to improve the material around him.

Washington Post Sean Daly

Hitch works best when it's a buddy comedy, with Smith and James having a blast as smooth Yoda and jiggly Jedi.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A date film with a hook for men.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Multiple lobotomies. That's the only way to explain what happens in the middle of Hitch, whose first hour sets up one of the brightest romantic comedies in months and whose second hour tears it down.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

James has the forward drive of a trash-compacted Ralph Kramden with some of Ed Norton's random gentility and, here at least, he has a knack for fine-tuned physical comedy that gets you laughing even when the script's not there.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The premise is intriguing, and for a time it seems that the Date Doctor may indeed know things about women that most men in the movies are not allowed to know, but the third act goes on autopilot just when the Doctor should be in.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The movie's last two minutes, in which they all do goofy dances and have no dialogue or script to get in their way, is easily the highlight. It's the previous 113 minutes of plot that cause problems.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

The movie slides into slapstick at times, but it never overpowers the story.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

But when it's funny, it's truly funny and the featured couples all have an easy and believable chemistry.

Newsweek David Ansen

Andy Tennant's flimsy but generally likeable comedy is tailor-made for Smith's cheerfully suave comic style, and the movie goes out of its way to avoid any hint of sleaziness.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

An average romantic comedy put together with enough professionalism to keep your cynicism momentarily at bay, featuring good-looking actors who also, in this case, seem like pretty nice people.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

For all its flaws, Hitch largely comes off as a light romp.

Premiere Aaron Hillis

As the phrase turns, it's better when things come off WITHOUT a hitch.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Yet [Smith] can't keep the movie from stopping cold with another hour left to go.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

To enjoy this film, it helps to check your brain at the box office.

Variety Brian Lowry

Considerably heavier on romance than comedy, Hitch stitches together relatively few laughs but generates enough goodwill and energy.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Will Smith, taking a break from summer sci-fi smashfests, certainly shows a gift for modulation. Far from coasting, he plays a world expert at romance by ratcheting his charm up and down in supple, exacting degrees.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Will Smith has an easy charm, and this labored romantic farce works it hard. Too hard.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Buried somewhere in here, about 6 feet deep, is an intriguing premise.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

The film moves in fits and starts, and is way too long, but it may prove memorable, if only for the sweet, marvelously inventive performance of Kevin James.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

The movie, like Hitch, tries to be cool, funny and sweet but falls on its face without generating any real sympathy, smarts or humor.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Along with its try-anything-for-a-yuk screenplay, the worst thing about Hitch is its running time of almost two hours. Did the studio forget to edit this flimsy thing down?

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

An unwieldy, excessively talky affair, unintentionally exhibiting all the clunky stops and starts and self-conscious ramblings of a particularly awkward first date.

Austin Chronicle Steve Davis

In the end, while both of these performers look great together, they really don't seem to belong together. And that's the biggest hitch in Hitch.